Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness: Greater London

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of the affect on homeless families from London of being housed significant distances outside the capital away from their friends and families.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Local authorities must secure accommodation within their own district so far as is reasonably practicable. Where it is not possible to secure accommodation within their district and an authority has secured accommodation outside their district, the authority is required to take into account the distance of that accommodation from the district of the authority. Authorities should try to secure accommodation that is as close as possible to where an applicant was previously living. Councils must also take into account the impact a change in location would have on a household, including the possible disruption to peoples’ jobs and children’s schooling.The Department collects data on the number of out of district placements, by local authority, under the interim duty to accommodate whilst making enquiries etc. and under the duty to secure temporary accommodation whilst awaiting settled accommodation. This is available in (attached)Table 775 at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness



Table 775
(Excel SpreadSheet, 3.54 MB)

Housing: Construction

baroness golding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect purchasers of newly built homes from defects resulting from faulty building by developers.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: A new home is not just the largest monetary purchase most people ever make, it is also one of the largest emotional commitments as people look to provide a safe, good quality home for them and their families. It is therefore vital that as housing supply increases, the quality of new build homes continues to improve, and I am aware of last year’s report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment, More Homes, Fewer Complaints, which looked at these issues. Building inspectors check to ensure that building regulations’ requirements are met on new homes, but it is the house builders' responsibility to ensure new homes are built to the right standards.Where something goes wrong, house builders and warranty providers should fulfill their obligations to put this right. The Consumer Code for Homebuilders is an industry-led scheme which gives protection and rights to purchasers of new homes, ensuring that new homebuyers are treated fairly and are fully informed about their purchase. A new Code was introduced on 1 April.

Housing: Construction

baroness golding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to appoint an ombudsman to address the standard of newly built homes.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: A new home is not just the largest monetary purchase most people ever make, it is also the largest emotional commitment as people look to provide a safe, good quality home for themselves and their families. It is therefore vital that as housing supply increases, the quality of new build homes continues to improve so as to avoid some of the issues highlighted in the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Excellence in the Built Environment's report.I am aware of the report’s recommendations, including that for a new homes ombudsman.

Garden Communities

baroness doocey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they used to select the 14 new garden villages which will receive government support, from the 51 expressions of interest received; and on what criteria the Fairoaks garden village was rejected.

baroness doocey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made of developments at Longcross, Woodham New Town and Deepcut in reaching their decision on the 14 new garden villages.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: All expressions of interest were measured against the assessment criteria as set out in the Government prospectus “Locally-Led Garden Villages, Towns and Cities” published March 2016https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508205/Locally-led_garden_villages__towns_and_cities.pdfThey include, for example: the likelihood of timely progress and accelerated delivery; the strength of quality, innovation and design in the proposal; and the strength of local leadership and support.



Locally - led garden villages, Towns and Cities
(PDF Document, 521.25 KB)

Department for Education

Universities: Ethnic Groups

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what figures they have access on the representation of UK-domiciled black and Asian ethnic minorities in comparison to UK population averages amongst (1) UK-domiciled students, and (2) academic staff, in (a) Russell Group, and (b) non-Russell Group, universities.

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the work of (1) the Higher Education Academy, and (2) the Higher Education Statistics Agency, in relation to equal opportunities in higher education for black and Asian UK-domiciled students in (a) undergraduate studies, and (b) post-graduate studies.

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last met UK Vice-Chancellors to discuss (1) the proportion of admission offers made to UK-domiciled black and other ethnic minority students, and (2) the number of black and Asian UK-domiciled citizens appointed to academic posts in UK universities.

lord nash: Widening access and success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds is a priority. This Government is committed to increasing BME (Black and Minority Ethnicity) participation in higher education (HE) by 20% by 2020. We want to ensure that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from HE, irrespective of their background or gender.Our most recent guidance to the Director of Fair Access placed a strong emphasis on increasing the number of BME students in HE by 2020 and to address disparities in outcomes (retention, degree attainment and progression to employment/ further study) for students from BME backgrounds. HE publicly-funded providers are subject to maximum fee caps for undergraduate courses. Those wishing to charge higher fees must have an access agreement agreed with the Director. HE publicly-funded providers without an access agreement can charge up to £6,000 for a full-time course in 2017/18 or up to £6,165 if they have a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) rating of ‘Meets Expectations’. HE publicly-funded providers with an access agreement can charge up to £9,000 for a full-time course in 2017/18 or up to £9,250 if they have a TEF rating of ‘Meets Expectations’.For 2017/18, access plans agreed by the Director means HE providers will spend more than £833 million on measures to improve access and student success for students from disadvantaged backgrounds including minority ethnic groups - up significantly from £404 million in 2009.Recent research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that BME groups are more likely to participate in HE than white British people. They also have relatively higher participation rates at the most selective institutions, taking into account prior attainment, student characteristic and other factors. The entry rate for English 18 year olds from state schools increased for all ethnic groups in 2016. The entry rates are the highest ever recorded for each group, with the largest increases for pupils in the Asian ethnic group (1.9 percentage point increase to 43%) and the Mixed ethnic group (1.2 percentage point increase to 33%) while the lowest entry rate was for pupils in the White ethnic group (0.9 percentage point increase to 29%).As autonomous organisations, HE providers are responsible for their own admissions policies and procedures. DfE Ministers have had no meetings with Vice-Chancellors to discuss admissions offers. In addition, subject to Parliament, the Higher Education and Research Bill will:- Establish a new regulator for higher education in England, the Office for Students, which will have a statutory duty to consider the need to promote equality of opportunity for students as it relates to access and participation in higher education.- Introduce a Transparency Duty which will shine a light on university admissions and performance requiring providers to publish application, offer, acceptance, drop-out and attainment rates of students broken down by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background.- Introduce a new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which will ensure institutions are incentivised to provide excellent teaching outcomes for all of their students including those from BME and disadvantaged backgrounds.Regarding the appointment of black and Asian UK- domiciled individuals to academic posts, I commend the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’s Diversifying Leadership Programme, which is tackling under-representation of BME staff in leadership roles in higher education.I also commend the Equality Challenge Unit’s Race Equality Charter, which is awarded to recognise the advancement of minority ethnic staff and students in higher education through representation, progression and success for all.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Military Intervention

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 March (HL Deb, col 10), in what ways they provide practical support to rebel fighters in Syria.

baroness anelay of st johns: ​We provide some groups in the moderate opposition, who are standing up to both the tyranny of Assad and the terrorist threat from Daesh, with political and practical support. This includes communications, medical and logistics equipment, including equipment to protect against chemical weapons attacks.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Evening Standard: Charitable Donations

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much matched funding HM Treasury has transferred to Evening Standard charity appeals since May 2010.

lord ashton of hyde: The Office for Civil Society has granted £2.2m of direct funding for the London Community Foundation's 'Dispossessed Fund' since 2010. This fund is also supported by the Evening Standard, with nearly £18 million raised in total so far. This fund has supported hundreds of community groups across the capital to build social infrastructure in areas of poverty, help communities take control of issues that are affecting them and to tackle specific problems such as gang culture among young people.